The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c13.1

c13.1

Avalokiteśvara is famous in the Mahāyāna Pantheon as a Bodhisattva emanating from the Dhyāni Buddha, Amitābha and his Śakti, Pāṇḍarā. As Amitābha and Pāṇḍarā are the presiding Dhyāni Buddha and Buddhaśakti of the present Kalpa (cycle), namely, the Bhadrakalpa, Avalokiteśvara is said to be the Bodhisattva who rules during the period between the disappearance of the Mortal Buddha, Śākyasiṃha, and the advent of the Future Buddha, Maitreya. The Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha ¹ gives an account of his character, moral teachings and miracles and from it is learnt that he refused Nirvāṇa, until all created beings should be in possession of the Bodhi knowledge and to that end he is still supposed to work and foster spiritual knowledge amongst his fellow creatures. One of the passages in Kāraṇḍavyūha ² characterises him as taking the shape of all gods of all religions, nay, even the shape of the father and mother,—in fact, the form of the worshipped of any and every worshipper, to whom he might impart knowledge of Dharma. By a slow and gradual process, first human beings and then animals and other creatures would advance spiritually to obtain salvation. For all these reasons Avalokiteśvara is characterised as the best of the Saṅgha, the Jewel of the Buddhist Church or Saṅgharatna.